None of my baby swallows made it this year

[TheJenners]

I had adults attempt two different nests. First one was directly above the barn aisle, where I couldn’t do anything about it, and all the babies (not fledglings) all plummeted to their deaths. Second nest was in a better spot and I put a muck bucket with hay under it. It went from four or five happy chirping babies to none overnight it seems. One dead in the bucket, one dead not in the bucket, and one dead hanging from the nest.

I don’t have starlings in the barn, which in the past have killed sparrow babies. What else can it be? Starving to death? Lord knows I have enough adults outside flying around eating bugs. I was very hopeful for the second nest to have success, so that they would come back and nest next year.

[Bluey]

Not sure those are very trifthy chicks?

I had parents try to make nests by the doors, that I discouraged.
Finally they snuck up on me and made a nest in a corner under the porch that I didn’t see until it had inhabitants, so I had to leave it.

I think there were four, one morning saw one hung by a toenail upside down on the edge and dead.
A few days later another one dead under the nest.
Hope the other two made it somewhere else alive, nothing there now but under the nest a pile of bird droppings I need to go clean out.

[PNWjumper]

Mites?

The years mites are bad here, many (most?) of the babies throw themselves to their death. Could also lead to dead babies in the nest if the mites are bad enough.

[Manahmanah]

Mites probably. Knock down those nests so thet make fresh. Could also be heat.

[LilyandBaron]

If mites, use diamotaceous earth in future. I lost a clutch last year and read up on it as safe treatment for mites. I sprinkle it on new nests but it’s safe on the live birds, too. My babies are happily flying now. Sorry for your sad year:(

[Tory]

@PNWjumper

Mites?

The years mites are bad here, many (most?) of the babies throw themselves to their death. Could also lead to dead babies in the nest if the mites are bad enough.

OMG, I’ve noticed that the mites are horrible this year.

[BasqueMom]

We’ve been here 17 years and one have set of swallows over the door to the back yard. All have always done well. This year they were late, took forever to start a nest, the male didn’t hang around much, and five birdies first batch but two didn’t make it. They were flying some. Next batch was three and all passed away…they weren’t quote flying, just finding them on the ground. We had a week of 110 degree which didn’t help I’m sure.

[walkinthewalk]

[QUOTE=BasqueMom;n10197743]
We’ve been here 17 years and one have set of swallows over the door to the back yard. All have always done well. This year they were late, took forever to start a nest, the male didn’t hang around much, and five birdies first batch but two didn’t make it. They were flying some. Next batch was three and all passed away…they weren’t quote flying, just finding them on the ground. We had a week of 110 degree which didn’t help I’m sure.[/Q

i had two clutches of babies (5 & 3 each) and they all survived. The parents were so different in behavior this year, I even wrote to the TN Bird society but never heard back. Both parents stayed in the barn with the first brood but I watched the female kick the male out of the barn during the sitting and hatching if the second brood. The male slept on the garage door high wire every night — until the female ok’d him helping to feed the young ones.

my Carolina Wrens, however, had three or four clutches and none of this last clutch have lived. They all fell out of the nest. We thought we got the last two back in the nest on time but they didn’t make it.

Also, four pair of Purple Martins have come back for a few hours every morning! I’m pretty sure it’s some of the kids who were raised in the four houses we have for them. By now they have all headed (I had assumed) for South America. We are in Middle Tennessee, I hope they know what they are doing.

[CHT]

I have 3 out of 4 die from one nest. It was a hot (for here) week, and I found a baby kicked out of the nest, and the other 3 hanging out of the nest. I put it back, but later found 2 kicked out. I kept putting them back in, but by morning 3 were dead. In hindsight the one that did live was much bigger than the others. I am not sure if it was the heat, or if it is that it has been so dry here that maybe the parents can’t find enough food for them. We don’t have mites in the nests.

[TheJenners]

I read there is something safe to put on nests and babies for mites, and if another nest appears (doubt it this late :no:) I will get some and apply. I am just so sad. They are my second favorite bird, the first being killdeer and the ones who visited didn’t stay and nest.

I also thought heat as it has been warm for here, but not warm overall where other swallows nest.

[Simkie]

Some babies JUST hatched here so maybe not too late? Although I’d be hesitant to use DE, with how terrible it is to inhale.

How awful to lose babies! The earlier clutches in my barn seemed to go from fledgling to gone really quickly this year. Thought maybe I just had mistaken how long it took last year? Now worried they might have died Didn’t find any indication, but who knows?

[danacat]

Luckily mine seem to have all made it – but many did have quite a bit of trouble learning to fly; they skittered around on the floor of the barn for ages with the parents keeping track of them, dive bombing to try and protect them. I caught them and put them outside on top of fence posts (parents found them and kept track) and finally they flew off.

A few second clutches; time will tell how they do.

Last year many dead – hanging from nests or on the ground. Could have been mites; not sure. I’m so hesitant to knock down nests for fresh start; did that one year and all the arrivals flew around frantically wondering what happened to their homes. Might be the best thing to do though…???

Diatomaceous earth looks promising to kill mites – sprinkle in nests immediately after swallows are gone for the season. But I can’t find a definitive answer as to the dangers of birds breathing it in (people and animals shouldn’t)…so the jury is still out. But maybe the diatomaceous earth will be dissipated enough by springtime, and once it’s soggy from humidity etc, it isn’t harmful at all.

[RutlandH2O]

We’ve been living on this farm for 23 1/2 years. I have kept records of the swallows’ comings and goings all that time. In 2016, the swallows arrived almost 2 weeks later than normal and their numbers were down. Last year, the first scout arrived earlier than ever before (27 March). The number of successful nests were about half a dozen. This year the first scout arrived on 23 April, which is three weeks later than in a normal year. I actually didn’t think we would have any. A grand total of 6 birds arrived. The most disconcerting aspect of this years’ “Swallow Watch” was the complete lack of baby swallow vocalizations. When the parent birds arrive at the nest, the babies all call, with their mouths agape, begging for food. Our swallows tend to produce a clutch of 5 eggs which almost universally produce 5 live babies. This year no calls, no babies, nothing. I’ve had to make mud puddles for them because it has been drier than any other June/July on record. We have 2 ponds, one of which is much larger than the other. The swallows do swoop down to collect water in their beaks to mix with soil and spit to build their nests. The temperatures this summer have been very high (high 80s, this is England, remember) and sustained over weeks and weeks. I believe we won’t have any swallows next year. There won’t be any young to replace the older birds. I can remember losing count when I reached 77 birds on our house roof 20 years ago. And that was just our farm. We counted multiple dozens of nests that successfully produced 2 clutches of eggs those many years ago. We don’t spray, EVER, and we have a constant supply of water, insects, and barns to facilitate nest building and rearing young. The only obvious culprit in the demise of swallow numbers, at least in our area, is the number of corvids raiding nests. It used to be that magpies represented a great threat to our swallows. But, now, in the past 3 years, the proliferation of jackdaws is breathtaking in their numbers. I could be wrong, but that is my experience.

[walkinthewalk]

I have never had more than one pair of Barn Swallows in the barn and they never use the same nest, the next year.

once they have left and winter sets in, I decided I will leave only the most recent nest and remove the others, that haven’t been used for a few years.

it sure has been a strange critter year.